Screen door latch



Dec. 25, 1945. s. OXHANDLER SCREEN DOOR LATCH Filed Feb. 22, '1944 Patented Dec. 25, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Samuel. Oxhandler Flushing, Y., Sargent. & Company, New Haven, porationoi! Connecticut assignor to Calm... a. cor.-

Appl icaition. Fefiruary 22, 1944; Serial No; 523-,fi55;

11 Claims.

This invention relates to door latches, and more particularly to a latch for use with doors of light weight, such as screen doors, for example; As illustrated, the working" portions of the latch are housed within a tubular or cylindrical case, the case being such that it may be conveniently formed of seamless tubing, for example, and the parts thereafter inserted therein. Y

Latches of this character are commonly provided with an operating spindle extendingtransversely of thecas'e through openings therein, serving to retract the bolt when the spindle is'rotated. During shipping it is common toshipthe latches in knock-down condition, and more especially with the spindle removed from its posi tion in the case so that less space is required and so that a smaller package may be employed. As the spindle also acts tohold thepa-rtsof the lock within the case, these parts will oferr become disassembled from the case when it is removed from the carton, as there is nothing to hold the parts in'place.

I contemplate by the present invention theconstruction of a latch of the character de-- scribed, such thatthe parts will be retained within the case even whenthe spindle is removed therefrom; and to so construct the operating parts of the lock that these will be of very si mple form, and so that their manufacture will becomparatively inexpensive, whileat the same time the working parts of the lock will be positive in operation and will be properly guided in their" reciprocating movements toprotract and retract the bolt.

One object of the present invention is'to pro-- vide a door latch of simple and inexpensive con-- struction, the parts of which are so arranged that they may be permanentl secured within the ease and properly guided in their movements therein.

A still further object of the invention: is to-pro vide a door latch of the type described having a latch-retracting member of improved construction, which may be more economically manufactured than the corresponding parts common use.

A- still' further object of. the invention is to provide a door latch of the character described having a simple and inexpensive arrangement for retaining and guiding the bolt and associated parts within the case, so that these parts will be held against rotational displacement, whereby the latch may be readily installed upon a, door without the necessity of reversing the position or the parts of the mechanism. within the case.

To these and other ends the invention consists rear end ofv theholt, leaving the head. or nose of:

in the: novel features andcombinations or: parts; to be hereinafter describedand claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig; 1 a side elevational view of? a latch em.- bodyin'g my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view on line 2--2' oiFig. 1=;

Fig; 3 is a transverse sectional view on use 3;--3 of Fig. 1, looking inthe direction or the: arrows;

Fig. 4- is a. transverse sectional: view on line;- 4-4 of Fig; 1 looking inv the direction. of: the arrows;

Fig. 5-- is a view oi? the bolt and bolt. retracton the former being shown in section and. the latter inside elevation;

Fig. 6 comprises plan' and side elevational: views of one of the parts of the retractor; and.

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of; another part of the retractor;

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, 1" have shown: a latch. case Wat $131 311? lar form, the case being partly closedat the back; asshown at- H, and being open atthe front end, as at [2, for the projection. therefrom of the bolt 131 As shown, the casev is integrally formed. of. tnhula-rstook' and is. devoid. of seams. Asshown, the boltis provided with a bore. orrecess I' l open.- ing through the rear'end of thesama. and; is also provided with a: longitudinal slot l fi which. inter sects this bore and which. also opens through. the

the bolt solid; as: shown more especially in Fig; 5;.

Secured to the bolt by a. lost-motion connec;- tion, as will be hereinafter-described, is a bolt carrier orretract'orit in the torm or. aflat link: or elongated plate; this member being provided. with a slot I i near its forward end. withinwhich. is: received a: pin" is passed through outer walls of the bore M in the bolt to: secure the: retractor thereto. As shown more especially Fig. 5*, the retractor is Inf-somewhat greaterwidth. thanthe diameter of the bore 14; so that; it will. extend into the slotti and slide therein, the pin 18' moving in theSlOt I1.

A spring I9 is positioned in the bore M and acts. against the front of this bore at: iteforward end, and at its rear end against the forward. end of the retractor 16, so as to" normally retain thesepartsin extended position, the pin 8- at the forward end of the slot H, as shown Fig. 5. It be apparent that with this arrangement when the door is closed and the bolt cammedrearwardly by engagement: with a strike, the usual manner; the bolt. may move rearwardly against the tension or the spring 19 in order" to and 22. These flanges may be slightly rounded upon their outer surfaces, as shown, for example, at 23 in Fig. 4, so that they will fit snugly the inner wall of the case l0, which, as shown,

is substantially circular in cross-section. In order to guide the retractor in its reciprocatory movements within the case, lugs 24 are formed upon the inner surface of the case, one of which lugs abuts the body of the retractor itself, and the other the edge of theflange 22, so that the retractor will not be permitted to rotate within the case. It will be apparent that, as the forward end of. the retractor is slidably engaged within the slot l of the bolt, the latter will also be prevented from rotational movement. Inorder to hold the retractor in the case, a tongue 26 may be struck inwardly from the wall of the case, as shown more especially in Fig. 1, this tongue serving to abut the forward edge 21 of the laterally extending flange 22. This engagement will limit the forward movement of the retractor and pre vent it and the bolt from being withdrawn entirely from the case., It is understood that the tongue 26 is displaced inwardly after the parts have been assembled in the case. Adjacent its; rear end certain parts are superposed upon and secured to the web portion of the retractor, as will now be described. A small plate 30, of the shape shown in Fig. 6 is placed between the flanges 2| and 22 in such a position that its rear end extends rearwardly beyond the retractor itself, while superposed upon the plate 30 is a second plate 3|, the two plates being secured to the retractor web by the rivet 32, and preferably the width of. these two plates is, as shown in Fig. 2, substantially equal to the width of the flanges 2| and 22, so that they lie Within the outline of these flanges. ,As shown in 7, a part of the retractor memberis turned laterally as at 33 and rounded upon its end to fit snugly against the wall of thecase, while a similar laterally turnedend portion 34 is provided upon the plate 3|, these laterally turned portions serving to assist in guiding the retractor in the case, andv also serving as an abutment against which may act the spring 35 mounted in the case behind .the retractor, and acting at its rear end against the wall I]. It will be understood that the rearwardly extending end 36 of the intermediate plate 30 extends within the spring 35, so that this spring will have a surface of considerable area to act upon, notwithstanding the fact that the retractor in general is formed of a flat piece of stock.

Forwardly of the plates 30 and 3| the retractor is provided with an opening 38, the rear ed e of which is cam shaped, as shown at 39, and the forward ends of the plates 30 and 3| are similarly shaped so as to provide a relatively thick cam surface to be engaged by complemental cam surface formed on the spindle 4|. This spindle is adapted to extend transversely through the case through openings 42 formed therein.

It may be noted that the members 30 and 3| portion is provided spindle 4|.

36 is substantially the same as the length of the.

laterally turned portion 34, and the forward camshaped ends of these members coincide with each other and with the similarly shaped surface 39 at the rear of the opening 38 in the retractor.

It will be apparent that after the parts are assembled in the case and the tongue 26 struck upwardly to engage the shoulder 21, they will be retained within the case independently of the By retracting the parts slightly with the thumb the spindle may be inserted through the openings 42 in the position shown in Fig. 2, in which the cam portion 40 thereof will engage the cam portion 39 of the retractor and serve to retract the bolt. The retractor will, of course, be urged to protracted position by the spring 35, which spring may be slightly stronger than the spring I9 so that the bolt |3 may be forced inwardly when the door is closed without moving the retractor.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and 'variation within the spirit of the inveniton and within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A latch bolt construction comprising a casing, a latch bolt and retractor therefor slidably mounted in the casing, said retractor comprising a flat link connected to the bolt at its forward end, said link havin an opening therein and a cam surface at one side of said opening, and a 40 plate secured flatwise to said link adjacent said cam surface .to increase the thickness of the link.

2. A latch bolt construction comprising a casing, a latch bolt and retractor therefor slidably mounted in the casing, said retractor comprising a flat link connected to the bolt at its forward end, the rear end of said link having laterally projecting guide flanges along its upper and lower edges, an opening between said flanges and a cam surfaceat one side of said opening, and a plate secured flatwise to the link between the flanges and extending rearwardly beyond the end of the link.

3. A latch bolt construction comprising a casing, a latch bolt and retractor therefor slidably mounted inthe casing, said retractor comprising a flat link connected to the bolt at its forward end, said link having an opening therein and a cam surface at one side of said opening, a plate secured flatwise to said link adjacent said cam surface to increase the thickness of the link, said link having its rear end portion turned laterally, and a spring in the casing acting against said turned portion.

4. A latch bolt construction comprising a cas-v ing, a latch bolt and retractor therefor slidably mounted in the casing, said retractor comprising a flat link connected to the bolt at its forward end, said link having an opening therein and a cam surface at one side of said opening, a plate secured flatwise to said link adjacent said cam surface to increase the thickness of the link, said link having its rear end portion turned laterally,

a spring in the casing acting against said turned portion, and a second. plate secured to the link in superposed positionwith respect to thefirst and having its rear end turned laterally to provide an abutting surface for the spring.

5. A latch bolt construction comprising a casing, a latch bolt and retractor therefor slidably mounted in the casing, said retractor comprising a flat link connected to the bolt at its forward end, said link having an opening therein and a cam surface at one side of said opening, a plate secured fiatwise to said link adjacent said cam surface to increase the thickness of the link, the forward end of the link having a sliding connection with the bolt, and a spring interposed between the bolt and the forward end of the link.

6. A latch bolt construction comprising a casing, a latch bolt and retractor therefor slidably mounted in the casing, said retractor comprising a flat link connected to the bolt at its forward end, said link having an opening therein and a cam surface at one side of said opening, a plate secured flatwise to said link adjacent said cam sur face to increase the thickness of the link, the forward end of the link having a slot therein, said bolt having a recess within which the link is received, a pin carried by the bolt and passing through said slot, and a spring in said recess between the bolt'and the forward end of the link.

7. A latch bolt construction comprising a casing, a latch bolt and retractor therefor slidably mounted in the casing, said retractor comprising a flat link connected to the bolt at its forward end, said link having an opening therein and a cam surface at one side of said opening, a plate secured flatwise to said link adjacent said cam surface and having its rear end turned outwardly and laterally, the rear end of the link being turned laterally in the opposite direction, and a second plate secured between said first plate and link and extending rearwardly beyond said laterally turned portions.

8. A latch bolt construction comprising a cas- 40 ing, a latch bolt and retractor therefor slidably mounted in the casing, said retractor comprising a flat link connected to the bolt at its forward end, said link having an opening therein and a cam surface at one side of said opening, a plate secured fiatwise to said link adjacent said cam surface and having its rear end turned outwardly and laterally, the rear end of the link being turned laterally in the opposite direction, and a second plate secured between said first plate and link Gin and extending rearwardly beyond said laterally turned portions, and said link having laterally extending flanges on its upper and lower edges overlying the upper and lower edges of said plates.

9. A latch bolt construction comprising a tubular casing, a latch bolt and retractor therefo slidably mounted in the casing, said retractor comprising a flat link connected to the bolt at its forward end and having laterally projecting guide flanges along its upper and lower edges to contact the casing and guide the link in its movements, a plate secured fiatwise to the link between said flanges, and the rear ends of said link and plate being turned laterally in opposite directions and extending in proximity to the opposite walls of the casing.

10. A latch bolt construction comprising a tubular casing, a latch bolt and retractor therefor slidably mounted in the casing, said retractor comprising a flat link connected to the bolt at its forward end and having laterally projecting guide flanges along its upper and lowe edges to contact the casing and guide the link in its movements, a plate secured fiatwise to the link between said flanges, the rear ends of said link and plate being turned laterally in opposite directions and extending in proximity to the opposite walls of the casing, and a second plate secured to the link between it and the first-mentioned plate, and the rear end portion of said second plate extending rearwardly of said guide flanges.

11. A latch bolt construction comprising a tubular casing, a latch bolt and retractor therefor slidably mounted in the casing, said retractor comprising a flat link connected to the bolt at its forward end and having laterally rojecting guide flanges along its upper and lower edges to contact the casing and guide the link in its movements, a plate secured flatwise to the link between said flanges, the rear ends of said link and plate being turned laterally in opposite directions and extending in proximity to the opposite walls of the casing, a second plate secured to the link between it and the first-mentioned plate, the rear end portion of said second plate extending rearwardly of said guide flanges, and a spring acting between the rear end of the casing and said laterally turned I end portions of said link and first plate.

SAMUEL OXHANDLER. 

